


Leading by Example

by Vim_Refresh



Category: Fallout 4
Genre: AU, Gen, Haylen is a perfect role model, Spoilers, and obsessed with propaganda, do we all have squire OCs?, look at how happy and alive everyone is, my Sole is still manipulative, protect Tinker Tom, protect the squires, protect the synths, reality sucks anyway, some closure for Danse, unrealistically happy, unrealistically idealistic, wait: Nuka-World raiders are neither happy nor alive, what’s reality ever done for me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-19 11:07:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8203519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vim_Refresh/pseuds/Vim_Refresh
Summary: The Sole Survivor takes the Brotherhood squires to Nuka World as part of her devious plan of turning them into well informed, critical thinkers (mwah ha ha). Some of my favourite characters hang out at the amusement park with the squires. Positive roll models! Everyone is happy, damn it.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Did you want an unrealistically happy ending option for Fallout 4? I sure did!
> 
> Now that Nuka World’s been released, my dream of a Broken Steel style DLC is dead. I so badly wanted to get more content after the main quest, or to tie up loose ends, or options to shape faction policy (hopes: dashed). So I wrote my own closure, and I pretend my Sole (Ruby) organised a peace treaty between the Minutemen, Railroad, and Brotherhood. This takes place in that AU, many months after they conquer the Institute.

The weather was beautiful, as if destiny approved of Ruby’s plans. It was sunny and warm, but with a slight breeze. Perfection.  
  
“We ready to go?” Ruby asked.  
  
“Absolutely,” Ingram replied, giving the rusty Ferris wheel a pleased pat. Repairing the ride had been a very popular, voluntary project for the scribes. “My team insisted on riding it themselves, purely for safety reasons,” the Proctor joked.  
  
“Gotta keep the squires safe,” Ruby said, smiling. “Thanks.”  
  
It had been far too dangerous, training the squires by having them accompany soldiers on missions. Even if they returned physically unharmed, seeing corpses and bags of meat couldn’t be good for their developing psyches. On the other hand, they needed to develop the skills to protect them from _becoming_ those meat bags.  
  
When she became Sentinel, Ruby had convinced Maxson and Kells to put her in charge of the squires training. She designed their new curriculum to be safer, to encourage critical thinking, and when she could manage it, to be more fun. This mostly took the form of camping (with guards), obstacles courses with paintball guns, lessons about weapon and armour maintenance, lots of reading, and meeting people from outside the Brotherhood. Today was a special treat, a trip to Nuka World. Ruby wanted it to be perfect.  
  
“No problem,” Ingram said, “consider it thanks for getting Star Control running again. Very interesting relic. I swear, you get me all the best toys.”  
  
“Well that’s because you’re my very favourite Proctor.” Ingram laughed at that, and Ruby continued, “You introduced yourself by giving me power armour and using the word ‘crotch.’ Great first impression.” Ingram laughed again, and Ruby was pleased with herself. On top of possessing an excellent sense of humour, Ingram was one of the most reasonable and competent people in her chapter of the Brotherhood, despite having serious physical and mental scars. She was a total badass, and she deserved to laugh.  
  
“It shouldn’t be too long a wait now,” Ruby said as she looked out over Kiddie Kingdom. Riding the Ferris wheel was the last step of (and reward for) the scavenger hunt she had sent the kids on. Getting this section of park to back to relatively child friendly status had taken a tremendous amount of time and work, but Ruby’s friends and everyone else involved seemed pleased with the results. The barricades and trash were gone, and with its lights and its red and pastel paint, Kiddie Kingdom looked positively cheerful.  
  
The scavenger hunt wasn’t just for the squires. Quite a few kids from around the Commonwealth had been invited. Nat, in true Wright fashion, had pestered Valentine and Ellie for inside information as soon as she learned they had made up the clues.  
  
“Looks like we have a winner,” Ingram said, gesturing to a giggling pair armed with red “Thirst Zapper” water guns, the prize for solving the penultimate clue. They took turns blasting each other as they approached the wheel.  
  
The pair was soon close enough to identify; it was squire Elizabeth Austin, with Haylen, her chaperone.  
  
Ruby was particularly fond of Elizabeth. The squire was a bit of a know-it-all, but that no doubt stemmed from her unquenchable thirst for knowledge. Even before she became a Sentinel, Ruby would periodically bring Hancock and Valentine aboard the Prydwen. She assumed that meeting ghouls and synths who were decent, caring people would help the squires become more accepting. Elizabeth had been the first to engage them in a conversation, which had taken the form of a volley of questions. She had been disappointed that Hancock wasn’t prewar, and delighted that Valentine’s memories were.  
  
“Squire Austin and I have been taking your warning about heatstroke very seriously,” said Haylen in a mock formal voice. She and Elizabeth then proceeded to drench Ruby with their new toys.  
  
Ruby sputtered and laughed. The water was actually very pleasant on such a hot day. “And you’re the first team to arrive. Well done Squire.”  
  
“It was easy,” said Elizabeth with just a hint of smugness. “I just picked locks and hacked terminals so I didn’t waste time finding keys.”  
  
“Good to see you remembering to apply skills from your lessons.”  
  
The squire’s smile widened, but then faltered. “I read some of the terminal entries. Are they real? Did that stuff really happen?”  
  
“Yes,” Ruby said sadly. The scavenger hunt had led the kids to several terminals with prewar logs. They didn’t need to read them, but some of the kids liked history. Though Ruby had made sure they couldn’t access the really disturbing logs. They were just children. “This place was pretty messed up before the bombs. It might actually be safer now… kind of ironic.”  
  
“Damned corporations,” Ingram muttered bitterly, and Ruby had to fight back a smile. It always amused her when Brotherhood members (who in other ways had a typical prewar military attitude), went on angry tangents about corporate greed and environmental irresponsibility. Danse did it a lot, and she was happy to join in.  
  
“So… if I won, is there a prize?” Elizabeth asked.  
  
“Well, you can ride the Ferris wheel until everyone else catches up,” Ruby replied.  
  
“Um, I would rather not do that,” the squire said, glanced nervously at the ride. “Not a fan of heights.”  
  
“Wait, are you ok on virtibirds?” asked Ruby. Had she been unwittingly traumatising the kid?  
  
“Yes… I mean, I can handle them,” Elizabeth replied with determination. “We always go somewhere cool, so it’s worth it. But this… I’m not going to enjoy it, and that makes riding pointless.”  
  
“Can’t argue with that logic,” Ingram agreed. “Do you have a different ride in mind? I can tell you if it’s running.”  
  
 “Actually… Sentinel, I want to talk to Danse. Is he here?”  
  
“Um, sure. Follow me,” Ruby said, before instructing Ingram and a beaming Haylen to wait for the rest of the kids. Then she headed off, with the squire at her side.  
  
Official Brotherhood policy on synths had changed dramatically. Their treaty with the Minutemen and the Railroad required it. Ruby had been concerned Maxson would go back on his word as soon as they defeated the Institute, but that hadn’t happened. She wasn’t sure if it was because of a strange sense of honour, her value as an ally, or how terrifying she was as an enemy. She _hoped_ it was because she had actually managed to convince him. She could be very persuasive. Regardless, the Brotherhood had followed Maxson’s orders, and some of them were _definitely_ convinced.  
  
Ruby had been subtly working for ages to change perceptions about Gen 3 synths, in the Brotherhood as well as the rest of the Commonwealth. It was working. With the Institute crippled, the fear of synths diminished. Many Brotherhood members had developed a grudging respect for the Railroad as well, since they were proving valuable in locating any Coursers still loyal to the Institute.  
  
Before the treaty, Ruby had herd the occasional grumbling from Brotherhood personnel about the morality and logic of executing Danse. He had been respected and admired. The more the Brotherhood learned about synths and memory wipes, the less they believed Danse had been a spy. After the treaty, and in the months following the Institute’s defeat, the criticisms had become more frequent and widespread. Ruby was thrilled, despite the fact that it was her supposed actions that were being judged.  
  
Of course, Maxson was being criticized as well, and eventually he decided on the solution his Sentinel had carefully suggested. He told the truth. Or rather, a version of the truth, one that he and Ruby had carefully shaped to his advantage. It was Ruby’s forte.  
His angry confrontation with Danse and Ruby was described as a ‘discussion’ where they presented evidence that Danse was not an infiltrator. The fact that Ruby had disobeyed Maxson’s orders was entirely omitted.  
  
The only risk Danse had posed was if the Institute captured him, which, with the recall code, would have been significantly easier. Once word of him being a synth had spread, the Institute would have been aware of that option. Faking Danse’s death prevented that, and protected the Brotherhood and Danse himself. They cast the deception as a clever ploy, to dupe the Institute until they had defeated it. The story was far more flattering than Maxson deserved, but he had been surprisingly cooperative, and since it would clear Danse’s name, Ruby was willing to be generous.  
  
Synths still weren’t allowed in the Brotherhood, so Danse was not able to rejoin. However, it was formally acknowledged that he had never been a traitor, and he could live openly.  
  
“I’m sorry I punched you in the face.” Elizabeth’s awkward apology pulled Ruby out of her thoughts. Ruby stopped and turned to her. The squire wasn’t meeting her eyes.  
  
When word of Danse’s execution had reached her, the usually obedient squire had given Ruby a black eye. The fierce blow from such a small girl would have been comical, had circumstances not been so tragic. Ruby was in no position to explain, and Elizabeth had acted coldly towards her until Maxson announced the truth.  
  
“Don’t worry about it,” Ruby said. “With the info you had, I probably would have punched me too,” she added, hoping the joke would ease any tension. “I know you never believed he was a spy. Scribe Haylen told me.” Ruby had asked Haylen to keep an eye on her, since Ruby had been useless at comforting the squire.  
  
“I was just so angry,” Elizabeth continued. “You gave us those lectures about disobeying immoral orders… I thought you were such a hypocrite.”  
  
History was fun. It was the how Ruby had managed to get away with giving those lectures. She always included the same, perfect example of people who _should_ have disobeyed their orders, the scientists at Mariposa. How could the Brotherhood disagree with that?  
  
“I was proud of you,” Ruby said seriously. “I still am.”  
  
The squire smiled, and they resumed walking. They were now outside the walls of Kiddie Kingdom, and Ruby noticed that Elizabeth kept staring at the structures in the distance. Ruby liked Galactic Zone’s cool design, with its huge loops and bold red. It must be astounding for anyone born postwar, especially if they knew it was built for recreation.  
  
The area they were in wasn’t nearly as striking. It was all dirt and broken concrete, dead grass, trees, and shrubbery. Soon enough though, they reached the northernmost entrance to Nuka-Town, and passed beneath its white arches.  
  
Inside, travelers sauntered about, and a familiar voice quickly drew Ruby’s attention to a group to her right.  
  
“I’m serious man!” Tinker Tom was yelling emphatically. “You gotta be careful. Those flowers were used to make mind control gas! You don’t wanna be anywhere near them.”  
  
Glory had been heading over to some fever blossoms, but had stopped to stare incredulously at Tom.  
  
“Tom,” Carrington said wearily. He’d been worried about Tom’s psychological health for ages, but Des had considered Tom too essential to pull, so she kept him on. Since the Institute had finally been defeated, the doctor had been able to actually treat Tom. It was challenging, but the reduced stress and going clean had really helped. He wasn’t well, but he was doing better.  
  
“No, he’s right,” Ruby cut in as she hurried over to the group. She gave a small nod of greeting to Deacon before continuing, “The raiders here were trying to develop mind control gas.” She didn’t want Carrington to think Tom was paranoid when he was actually right.  
  
“See?” Tom said in triumph. “Someone’s read the terminals. She knows what’s up.”  
  
“Well according to my tests, they don’t seem to have any real effect before they’re processed. You’re safe.” The luminescent blue blossoms were eerily beautiful, so Ruby had been very pleased that they weren’t dangerous.  
  
“So we’re here for the squires’ field trip,” Ruby continued, gesturing to Elizabeth. “What brings you guys?”  
  
“Tonight’s fireworks,” replied Deacon. “C'mon, sun. You can't stay up forever.”  
  
“In the meanwhile, I’ve been kicking these guys’ asses at the arcade,” Glory said with a grin. “Want a go?”  
  
“We’ve got places to be,” Ruby said apologetically. “Besides, there’s no way I’m beating you without power armour,” she added cheerily.  
  
“Right,” Glory teased. “Forgot, you’re useless without you tech toys.”  
  
“Only at combat,” Ruby retorted with mock indignation.  
  
“And navigation,” chimed in Deacon, as he cheekily tapped her pip-boy.  
  
“Hurtful… yet accurate.”  
  
Elizabeth was staring curiously at Glory. “Ma’am, are you the synth lady from the radio? On the Sentinel’s propaganda show?”  
  
“PR,” Ruby corrected, “we try to be more honest than most propaganda.” Elizabeth looked unconvinced of the distinction. Excellent, Ruby was trying to foster scepticism.  
  
Glory’s was the ass-kicking poster child of a liberated synth, so it made perfect sense for her to educate the Commonwealth about her them. That was the goal, to fight ignorance with knowledge. Plus, Glory had a history of resisting the Institute. She was a perfect example of why hatred for the Institute shouldn’t be directed at synths, and a mutual enemy was common ground.  
  
Glory nodded to Elizabeth, and Ruby was hit with a wave of gratitude. Glory didn’t like having anyone gawk at her, but she would tolerate it for her people. She and a few other brave synths, like Z1-14, were living openly now. It was risky, and they had to deal with idiots, but it was probably the most important part of the campaign for synth acceptance. Before, there was virtually no way for people outside the Institute or the Railroad to encounter a non-hostile Gen 3 that wasn’t passing as human.  
  
“Never met a synth before?” asked Carrington.  
  
“I have too!” cried Elizabeth, indignant at the suggestion that she wasn’t incredibly knowledgeable and worldly. “I know Danse and Mr. Valentine.”  
  
“We’re actually on our way to visit Danse right now,” Ruby bragged. She loved opportunities to show off her squires’ progress, and acceptance was the best progress.  
  
After a whisper to Carrington, advising him to keep Tom away from the Hubologists, Ruby said her goodbyes and continued on.  
  
Their destination was Fizztop Grille, where Ruby expected to find Danse. It had been renovated and converted into a community centre. The patio was now a comfy library, a vast improvement over a bedroom. Hancock had teased her about copying the Upper Stands residents, and that wouldn’t do. Besides, she had no need for self aggrandizement. Defeating three gangs of raiders and seizing the park with only Danse, Hancock, and Dogmeat’s assistance had been a more than sufficient show of might. The excursion had gone from ‘trap’ to ‘unexpected PR opportunity,’ and had wound up being a delightful example of human, ghoul, and synth cooperation. Also canine, but dogs didn’t need the PR.  
  
They reached base of the Fizztop Mountain and the crudely built wooden elevator, that would carry them to the top. Elizabeth just rolled her eyes at Ruby when she asked if she was comfortable using it. She did seem fine as they rode, and Ruby concluded that the girl’s fear of heights wasn’t severe.  
  
As they neared the top, Ruby heard Hancock’s distinct chuckle. He soon came into view, sprawled out on one of the couches with Luna, the library’s resident black cat, on his lap. He was chuckling at Danse, who was sitting on the other end of the sofa, trying to read. His task was made difficult by Katana, a silver tabby. If Katana wanted to be petted, he would pat his target’s arm or face until they did his bidding. Today he was not settling for single handed strokes. Danse had two hands, and Katana was sitting on the open book in his lap, demanding he use both of them.  
  
Since Danse was distracted, Hancock noticed Elizabeth first. “Good to see you Liz,” he said grinning. She was his favourite squire, for obvious reasons. “How’d the hunt go?”  
  
“I won,” she boasted. “Hello Mr. Hancock, Hello Paladin.” She walked over to Danse, scrunched down, and held out her arms. “Hello kitty, you look just like Emmett.” Katana promptly jumped into her arms.  
  
“Good to see you, squire,” Danse said, clearly surprised but pleased.  
  
There was a bit of a pause as Elizabeth looked around. She caught sight of two suits of power armour near the door, and she smiled. “Paint job says the T-60’s the Sentinel’s, is the X-01 yours?” she asked Danse. Ruby liked using ridiculously colourful, graffiti inspired paintjobs. She claimed it made her less intimidating when she approached civilians (and it did), but mostly she just thought they looked cool. Hilarious, and cool.  
  
“It is mine,” Danse replied.  
  
“I like the flames,” Elizabeth said earnestly. Next to Ruby’s armour, red and black flames looked positively professional. “What’s it like? I’ve never seen X-01 up close.”  
  
Danse was of course more than willing to thoroughly explain the intricacies of the suit. The squire carefully handed Katana to Ruby, who flopped down on the sofa, and Elizabeth followed as Danse walked over to the suit, to give a proper lesson. She listened, completely engrossed, only speaking to ask questions.  
  
“Ain’t that cute,” asked a smiling Hancock.  
  
Ruby smiled back. Danse was quite protective of children, and was relived with the changes she had made to squire training. He hadn’t even liked them being aboard the Prydwen.  
  
Katana suddenly decided he needed more attention and patted her mouth. “Engh, watch your claws, you little bastard. I’m already petting you.” Hancock just chuckled at her, as Luna  purred on his lap.  
  
They chatted about their day. Ruby learned that Hancock and Danse’s behind-the-scenes tasks for the scavenger hunt had gone as smoothly as hers. She took the opportunity to brag about Elizabeth.  
  
Eventually, Ruby grew anxious to check on the other children. They were perfectly safe; it was their supervisors she didn’t want to abandon. Besides, Danse and Hancock had to finish setting up the fireworks. The park was always dazzling at night, with its multitude of lights on its towering structures, but combined with her favourite type of explosions, tonight would be truly spectacular.  
  
Elizabeth’s face fell slightly when informed it was time to go, but brightened again when Ruby promised that she or Haylen would take her to visit again soon. The girl suddenly hugged Danse around the waist, pulling back before he had time to react. “I’m glad you’re okay Sir.”  
  
“I um, yes… Thank you Elizabeth,” said a surprised but truly touched Danse.  
  
And just like that, Ruby felt a lump in her throat, and her eyes stung. Today was perfect. Absolutely perfect.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like graffiti, check out the ‘Graffiti Power Armor’ mod by dacomputernerd. I love it, and it wouldn’t be right mentioning Ruby’s armour without citing the inspiration.
> 
> This AU’s Brotherhood’s new policy on synths is because:  
> a) It helps protect the synths the Railroad have sent to the Capital Wasteland, where there is a large Brotherhood presence.  
> b) Their hatred of synths is new. Synths weren’t on their radar in Fallout 3.  
> c) One reason they hate synths is the fear that they would decide to overthrow humanity, and use Institute tech to do so. With synth manufacturing ended by conquering the Institute, that becomes impossible. Why can’t we point this out in game?  
> d) I want to be happy, and I’m ok with pretending the above is sufficient for change
> 
> In this AU, Ruby’s arguments during Blind Betrayal were more compelling than they were in the game. She specifically addressed the inaccurate assumptions she had found on Maxson and Kells’ terminals (they seemed to think Danse was a spy and that the Institute could throw a “switch to bring him home”). MacCready has some Blind Betrayal dialogue showing that he believes basically the same thing, so it’s probably a widespread misconception. The game doesn’t give me a way to even try to correct it, ever. Didn’t the game make female Sole a lawyer? Shouldn’t she be better at debates? Sigh. 
> 
> I think Ingram is a really interesting character. I don’t like her opinions on ghouls and synths, but she seems conflicted about Danse. Plus she is so good at her job that during Spoils of War, her only punishment for disobeying Maxson’s direct orders was a sternly worded email. 
> 
> Tinker Tom has one of the saddest lines in the whole game. It was right after Patriot’s funeral. He only said it when I stood next to him for awhile, when I activated him, he gave his merchant dialogue, so I nearly missed it. He said, “I thought I got him out safely, but the teleporter room was so crazy,” like he was blaming himself. Tell the poor guy the truth, Des, or let me tell him, Game. Why must you hurt me Game? And that’s the story of how Tinker Tom ended up on my “must protect” list.
> 
> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
